As has been the case the past few seasons, the group of teams on the NCAA Tournament bubble seems pretty weak as conference play starts to hit full stride.

What those teams on the brink need is something that makes them stand out, and signature wins are the best way to separate from the crowd. With that in mind, here are the top five most important victories turned in by teams seeded ninth or lower in this week’s edition of the Field of 68 …

Note: Aside from the Mountain West and Ivy League, every conference is at least three games deep into its conference schedule. For those leagues, we’re just giving the conference nod to the team with the best record, with RPI rankings used to break ties. For the Mountain West and Ivy, we’re going with the highest-rated team in the RPI. Automatic bids are in parenthesis.

Note, part 2: As always, this is a projection of what the selection committee would do based on what’s happened so far this season. All RPI numbers are from collegeRPI.com through Tuesday morning.

1. Syracuse (Big East), Kentucky (SEC), Baylor, Duke (ACC)

At this point in the season, Syracuse and Kentucky are starting to feel like locks on the No. 1 seed line. Hard to imagine the Orange and Wildcats both stumbling enough for four other teams to put together resumes that would bump them down a notch.

2. Michigan State (Big Ten), Missouri, Ohio State, Kansas (Big 12)

That was a very impressive, turf-staking win for the Kansas Jayhawks against Baylor on Monday night. Thomas Robinson was his consistently excellent self, and Tyshawn Taylor turned in his second consecutive 28-point, six-assist effort. When those two are playing at a high level, the Jayhawks are elite.

3. Georgetown, North Carolina, Connecticut, Indiana

Everyone’s talking about North Carolina’s beatdown loss at Florida State, but it might have actually been a worse week for Indiana. The Hoosiers lost at home to a Minnesota team that opened Big Ten play 0-4, then were run out of the gym in a loss at Ohio State. They’re off this week, then play Northwestern, Michigan State and Illinois in what’s shaping up to be a make-or-break stretch.

4. UNLV (Mountain West), Illinois, Marquette, West Virginia

Illinois has a long list of narrow wins against teams that won’t sniff the NCAA Tournament this season—by nine against Richmond, by four against Illinois State, by five against St. Bonaventure, by four against Cornell and by five against Nebraska—but despite not playing very well in those games, the Illini are somehow 15-3 and tied with Michigan State atop the Big Ten standings.

Seton Hall impressed the country with back-to-back home wins against West Virginia and Connecticut, but the Pirates took a step back last week with a one-point loss at South Florida.

6. Kansas State, Florida, San Diego State, Virginia

Think about this: In Virginia’s loss at Duke on Thursday, the Cavaliers were 0-for-11 from 3-point range in the second half, and starting guards Sammy Zeglinski and Jontel Evans were held scoreless (combined 0-for-14 shooting) in a total of 68 minutes. Despite all that, the Cavs only lost by three points in one of the toughest environments in the country. That system Tony Bennett has spent the last three years installing at Virginia works.

FROM SI.COM:

8. Wisconsin, Xavier, Alabama, Wichita State

Wisconsin righted the ship last week, winning at Purdue and then knocking off Nebraska at home. Neither win was dominating, but after three consecutive losses, anything was an improvement. The Badgers’ next three games are tough but winnable—at home vs. Northwestern, at Illinois and at home vs. Indiana.

9. Louisville, Temple, Southern Miss, Saint Louis

Louisville, on the other hand, is still tumbling. The Cardinals have lost five of their past seven games, and the most recent one might have been the most frustrating. They jumped out to an 18-2 lead at Marquette but lost the lead by halftime and trailed the rest of the way. Louisville plays at a desperate Pitt squad on Saturday, then hosts an equally-as-desperate Villanova team on January 25.

10. Dayton (Atlantic 10), New Mexico, Northwestern, Memphis

If Northwestern makes the NCAA Tournament this season—for the first time in school history—the Wildcats will look back at last week’s win against Michigan State as the turning point. Of course, if they drop both of their road games this week, at Wisconsin and at Minnesota, they’ll be right back on the absolute fringe of the bubble.

11. Harvard (Ivy), California (Pac-10), Marshall (C-USA), Purdue

Not only does California have to battle both Washington schools on the road this week, but the Bears have to deal with the massive snowstorm that’s supposed to blanket the state.

Florida State’s dominating victory against North Carolina nudges the Seminoles back into the Field this week, but the earlier losses to Princeton and Clemson means they likely won’t be able to feel comfortable the rest of the year. Win at Duke on Saturday, though, and maybe that changes.